In December 2024, record-breaking Disabled Adventurer Darren Edwards will attempt a new world record by completing the longest sit-ski expedition in the history of polar exploration.
Paralysed from the chest down and operating at the absolute limit of what is possible for someone with a high-level Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Darren Edward’s epic undertaking to reach the South Pole will see him ski 333 kilometres in just 20 days in -20 degree temperatures. Currently, the furthest distance travelled by a sit-ski to reach the South Pole is 111 kilometres, making this a gargantuan undertaking.
Starting at 87° South and ending at 90° South, the Geographical South Pole, Darren Edwards will be supported by a team made up of three friends, including Matt Luxton the man who saved Darren’s life on the day of his life-changing climbing accident in 2016.
Antarctica is a dangerous place for anyone, let alone someone with a high-level Spinal Cord Injury. Working together, the team will face the risk of extreme temperatures, altitude sickness, exhaustion, and adverse environmental conditions including sastrugi, high winds, snowstorms, and crevasses.
In addition to changing perceptions of disability, the purpose behind Darren Edwards’ South Pole Challenge is to raise £300,000 for the charity ‘Wings for Life’ which seeks to find a cure for Spinal Cord Injury, and funds research and clinical trials globally – with astonishing results.
Previous record-breaking challenges undertaken by Darren Edwards since he was paralysed at the age of 26 include:
- In June 2021 Darren became the first person with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) to Kayak 1,400 kilometres from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’ Groats in Scotland. He also led a team of five injured and wounded veterans during the challenge.
- In May 2022 Darren became the first disabled adventurer to lead a crew of six on the epic undertaking of rowing across the English Channel (23 nautical miles across the busiest shipping lane in the world) in aid of mental health and suicide prevention charities across the UK and in memory of his father who took his own life in September 2021
- In October 2022, Darren became the first disabled person to complete the World Marathon Challenge – the iconic challenge of running seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents. More people have stood on the summit of Everest than have completed this gruelling logistical, physical and psychological test.
- In April 2023, Darren was part of the first all-disabled team to cross Europe’s largest Ice Cap, the mighty Vatnajokull in Iceland. Alongside Ed Jackson and Niall McCann, the team of three individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) overcame huge challenges to complete their epic unsupported journey in just 11 days.
INTRODUCING DARREN EDWARDS
Darren Edwards is a former mountaineer and Army Reservist who sustained a life-changing injury in the summer of 2016. The near-fatal climbing accident would leave Darren permanently paralysed from the chest down. With determination, grit and positivity, Darren has overcome adversity by becoming a Disabled Adventurer, Expedition Leader and Motivational Speaker.
On the 6th of August 2016, Darren Edward’s life changed forever. Whilst rock climbing in North Wales, a section of rock unexpectedly shifted below his feet and Darren was sent tumbling uncontrollably toward his climbing partner 100ft below.
The injury Darren sustained would leave him instantly paralysed from the chest down and with a severe spinal cord injury. Darren had been incredibly lucky to survive. Yet, as he was prepared for aerial extraction by the Mountain Rescue, Darren made an important and life-changing commitment to himself. He would not be beaten.
Darren Edwards is a living testament to the boundless capabilities of the human spirit. Surviving a devastating, life-changing climbing accident that very nearly claimed his life, and could so easily have destroyed his spirit, Darren has instead used it as a catalyst for growth.
What followed his accident was an arduous five-month journey through intensive care, surgery, and rehabilitation. Whilst Darren was able to come to terms with the events of that day, it would be accepting the limitations and implications of his disability that would require genuine grit and resilience.
Darren has pushed himself at each stage of his rehabilitation to come back stronger and to prove what can be achieved by someone with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and disability. Adventure has very much been at the heart of Darren’s recovery. Since first dreaming of learning to kayak as a way in which he could continue to explore the great outdoors, Darren has gone on to train as part of Great Britain’s Paracanoe Team, to pioneer adaptive freediving in the UK, and in 2021, to become the first disabled person to kayak from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’ Groats in Scotland – a distance of over 1,400 kilometres. In October 2022, Darren became the first disabled person to complete the World Marathon Challenge and in April 2023, Darren was part of the first all-disabled team to cross Europe’s largest Ice Cap unsupported.
Now, a record-breaking Disabled Adventurer, Darren has redefined the limits of what is thought possible for an individual with a Spinal Cord Injury.
Darren Edwards is represented by Wolfsong Media, one of the UK’s leading independent talent and literary agencies specialising in adventure, exploration and the great outdoors. www.wolfsongmedia.co.uk
THE SOUTH POLE CHALLENGE TEAM
Darren Edwards is a Disabled Adventurer, Author, and a Motivational Speaker.
Darren’s life changed in 2016 when a near-fatal climbing accident left him permanently paralysed from the chest down. Since then, he has kayaked the length of Britain, run 7 marathons across 7 continents in 7 days, and skied across the largest icecap in Europe.
Matt Luxton RVM has served in the Royal Navy as a Mine Clearance Diver since 2009.
Matt has been deployed on operations across the world and is an expert in beach reconnaissance and marine counterterrorism. In 2023, Matt was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) for his distinguished service in the Royal Navy.
Chris Brookes has served in the Army Reserve since 2013 and is a Paramedic with the Midlands Air Ambulance.
In 2017, Chris was part of the ‘SPEAR 17’ expedition that crossed Antarctica in 66 days, covering over 1,100 miles in their coast-to-coast mammoth challenge.
WINGS FOR LIFE
There are an estimated 50,000 people in the UK living with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and each year approximately 2,500 people are newly injured. Globally, more than 300,000 people suffer an SCI each year (World Health Organisation). It can happen to anyone at any time, and the impact lasts a lifetime.
Spinal Cord Injury is a truly life-changing injury, one which affects more than just one’s ability to walk, but all functionality below the injury site (bladder, bowels, sexual function, immunity, temperature control etc).
Wings for Life fund the world’s most promising scientific research and clinical trials around the globe, aimed at finding a cure for spinal cord injury. Since its inception in 2004, Wings for Life has funded more than 270 research projects worldwide, including six major clinical trials, and a number of vital breakthroughs have been made. There is now real and legitimate hope spinal cord injury can be cured in a generation.
As Wings for Life are supported by Red Bull, they promise that 100% of every donation receives goes directly to research. UK Registered Charity no: 1138804.
